Willow & Choices
“Buffy’s making another choice as well. She embarked on her journey to adulthood 2 years ago, though she’s hesitated at times along the way. In the scene under the tree she tells Willow, “I’m never getting out of her…I’m a Sunnydale girl, no other choice.” But Willow sees through this and understands that Buffy actually has chosen her course…Willow also made the choice to stay in Sunnydale. Not for Buffy, but for the fight against evil…Buffy’s spirit has enlisted for the duration. As Willow told her – and I think we need to see Willow speaking as Buffy’s spirit here – Faith made her choice as well. When she cast her lot with the Mayor, she gave up her freedom of choice from that point on. She has allowed outside forces to choose for her, which, to existentialists, makes her an object (Something in the control of others) rather than a subject (someone who acts on her own). She’s no longer an authentic individual as a result. That’s what Willow means when she says “now you’re nothing.” Faith isn’t a Slayer, she’s let herself become just a killer, as we see with the courier, including the gruesome use she makes of her knife. I think the look she has in the cafeteria when the Mayor order her to leave suggests that she actually recognizes this at some level. Sadly, she lacks the courage to back out…In existentialist philosophy you must accept the consequences of all your choices.” –“Myth, Metaphor, and Morality” by Mark Fields
